How It All Started

Ever since I was a teenager I had a strong desire to get out and travel to see the world. Starting in my late teens I began to travel mostly in Europe and a little bit in the US. I didn’t have much money so I’d always have to find ways to travel on a really small budget. I slept at railway stations and airports; hitchhiked and worked as an international courier; and I bought basic foods at the local markets and grocery stores! Unable to afford entry fees to most tourist attractions I would pursue free activities such as walking around the neighborhoods, going to museums when they offered free admission, and exploring the local communities.

Hitching a ride on a flat-back truck as a teenager!Enjoying time in the USA

Since I’ve always dabbled in and enjoyed photography, I took a camera with me on my adventures. I would take pictures of the people I crossed paths with as they carried on with their daily life. My interest was in talking with people in the places I traveled to so I could gain a better understanding about life in the local community.

Getting My Hair Cut Around The World

With each new trip my travels became longer. On longer trips, I inevitably needed to get a haircut so I’ve been visiting barbers and getting my hair cut around the world for many years now. I would always find a local barber and found the experiences within the barber shop a more genuine interaction with the local community. This was a place I wasn’t seen solely as a tourist. Barbers treated me the same as everyone else in the barber shop.

Does this take you back to the nineties?

In 1993, after saving money for a year, I traveled to Africa for a few months. It was the early 90s when grunge style was popular and I had grown my hair long. While I was in Tunisia, I went to a barber who cut my long hair short. I remember this barber did an amazing job cutting my hair. Since then I have had so many great and interesting haircut experiences. If only I could have filmed some of those barber shops and travels!

Catching The Boat From Italy To Tunisia

Fresh From The Barbershop - Tunisia

When Selfies were called Self-Portraits

Halfway to Timbuktu!

Our Very First Video Was Filmed In 1999 Prior To YouTube’s Existence!

It wasn’t until 1999 that I was able to purchase a digital camera to film with while Mystery Woman and I were traveling in India, Nepal, and Thailand. My interest in photography naturally evolved over time into videography. This is when we filmed our first Indian barber shop video prior to YouTube’s existence!

When we returned home, I shared the footage with family and friends who enjoyed watching this unusual unique experience. However, it wasn’t until 2006 when a colleague introduced me to YouTube that I found a platform to share this video with a wider audience.

In December 2006 I uploaded the video of the Indian barbershop experience to YouTube. At the time I couldn’t afford the editing software nor a computer powerful enough to run it. I ultimately found a cheap software program that could only auto edit video footage in sync with a music track. The software edited the footage to the beat of this fast paced track I had selected which made for rapid random cuts.

Many viewers complained about this editing. I received feedback saying the video could be really good if it wasn’t edited in this style. Despite the bad editing, the video was actually getting a lot of views and it was great to see the universal appeal of an Indian barbershop experience. Some subscribers still remember that original video and for many years it was the only video on my channel.

Official Launch Of The HairCut Harry Channel

When video editing software became more affordable I was able to re-edit the original Indian barber shop footage into the current version. The HairCut Harry YouTube channel began and officially launched in 2012! One of the earliest comments on the video said, did you have a vid up before that you had edited and put music too and we were all b****in that we wanted to see the original uncut version. It’s a great vid by the way! This video was shortly followed by the Turkish Grand Bazaar haircut video we had filmed in Istanbul in 2010.

Since then we have traveled in the USA, Canada, Europe, North Africa, South America, India, and Southeast Asia. Although we did not film videos in every location, we plan to share new content on all future travels. We never imagined there would be so much interest in the videos! I remember thinking it was the greatest thing to surpass 100 subscribers and thousands of views. Read some of the back stories behind Our Most Popular Videos With Over A Million Viewswhere we share how we found and came to film at some of the barbershops.

My Hope Is That You Are Inspired To Explore The World Around Us – Near Or Far

After many years of traveling, I still love to travel and am continuously inspired by the people I meet on the road. I have always enjoyed sharing some of these unique experiences through the YouTube channel and I want to share more of the travel journey through this blog. My hope is that you are inspired to explore the world around us – near or far.

I hope you enjoyed finding out a little bit about how this all began. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog!